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Saturday, September 6, 2014

A month in Tuscany day one - arriving at the villa

It has long been a dream of mine that when I retired I would rent a villa in Tuscany big enough for all my friends and family, and host a month long party to celebrate. This would also be a way of thanking all my friends who have cottages, boats and other toys that they have shared so generously with us.

View from the Villa

Well my dream has come true I have retired and yesterday we arrived in Sienna to pick up the keys to our villa. We got a cab from the bus terminus and wound our way around the Tuscan countryside to the address I had been given. I had been down the road on street view on countless times and recognized the villa as soon as I saw it, but the name and house number did not match what I had been given. You can only imagine my panic as I thought I have been duped and wired thousands of dollars into the hands of crooks, and had ruined about 30 friends vacations, who had planned a trip to Europe around this dream of mine.

Fortunately with some help from the cab driver and a receptionist from another agrotismo nearby we found a different entrance with the correct number. We were greeted by an old Italian man who spoke not a word of English. Luckily both he and I spoke a little french and we were able to ascertain that we were at the correct place and his son who did speak English would be along in a little while.

We explored around the villa, which was everything I had imagined. This is the kitchen that I will be cooking in for the next month!

After checking out all the rooms and garden, we headed down to the local supermarket in the rental car my husband had picked up. This was another adventure, it was Saturday afternoon and every family in Sienna was doing their weekly shop! The selection of produce, olive oil, pasta and wine was everything you would expect. We bought some essentials and a couple of chickens for our first dinner. This first night it was just family, my husband, two sons and my father and I wanted to keep it simple. Chicken roasted with lemon, garlic and rosemary which grows all over the gardens.

To accompany I cooked some fresh pasta and tossed with roasted cherry tomatoes, juices from the chicken and fresh mozzarella, and a simple green salad.

We drank local Chianti wine and watched the sun set over the Tuscan hills from our terrace dining table.

The dream that I had been planning and anticipating for over a year has become a reality!